The repast that contemporary Monterey lays out each year is similar to Comida de Campo ("picnic dinner"), which might include carne asada; tomato-green chile salsa; beans; empanadas filled with pumpkin, spiced beans and minced meat; flour tortillas; candied pumpkin; and red wine. This year's meal will showcase tri-tip, chicken, garlic bread and more.

Photo: Monterey History & Art Association

The repast that contemporary Monterey lays out each year is similar...

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Reigning over the festivities is La Favorita, a young woman with deep ties to Monterey history, and her "doncellas," or attendants, all dressed in traditional white Spanish gowns and lacy mantillas.

Photo: Monterey History & Art Association

Reigning over the festivities is La Favorita, a young woman with...

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The celebration includes a birthday cake topped with fresh roses.

Photo: Courtesy Wendy Brickman

The celebration includes a birthday cake topped with fresh roses.

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The cake (pictured here in an older photo) is carried around with all due full pomp and circumstance by local young men serving as cake-bearers, who parade the confection around the garden before it is sliced with a sword.

Photo: Monterey History & Art Association

The cake (pictured here in an older photo) is carried around with...

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A photo of La Merienda in 1931.

Photo: Monterey History & Art Association

A photo of La Merienda in 1931.

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This year's La Merienda celebrates 244 years. Event attendees are encouraged to don period garb to help re-create the atmosphere of an 18th century merienda.

La Merienda, Monterey's traditional birthday party, is a more elaborate and prolonged affair than the afternoon refreshment of the same name enjoyed by the colonists who settled the capital of Spanish California. Then again, those 18th century settlers had their mid-afternoon repast every day, while today's Monterey celebrates it just once a year — its 244th birthday party falls on June 7 this year.

For Spanish colonists in the late 1700s, La Merienda (translating to "picnic," "afternoon snack" or "tea") was essentially a refueling stop. After putting in a morning of hard work, they would take their early afternoon siesta; once refreshed, they would have a light luncheon before finishing the day's labor.

According to Ana Bégué de Packman, author of "Early California Hospitality" (Arthur H. Clark. 1938), this meal would have included sweet curd cheese, ripe black olives, crisp corn wafers, short cakes and "dulce de membrillo" (quince conserve). These would be washed down with cha (a native herb tea), agua fresca (wine, orange blossom or chia and sweetened water), chocolate or coffee.

The repast that contemporary Monterey lays out each year actually bears a closer resemblance to the Comida de Campo ("picnic dinner"), which Packman said would include carne asada; tomato-green chile salsa; beans; empanadas filled with pumpkin, spiced beans and minced meat; flour tortillas; candied pumpkin; and red wine.

Packman, who died in 1973, was a fifth-generation descendant of Juan Francisco Reyes, the alcalde of El Pueblo de Los Angeles in 1793, and of Maximo Alaniz, who held the first land grant to the rancho that has become Westwood and UCLA. She is a story unto herself, pouring immense energy into preserving not just the buildings but the traditions of Los Angeles' early pueblo days. Those efforts included holding meriendas to raise money for restoration projects.

Monterey's La Merienda takes place on the Saturday closest to June 3, the day in 1770 when California missions founder Padre Junipero Serra and Spanish military Capt. Gaspar de Portola jointly established the pueblo of Monterey. They celebrated their accomplishment with a picnic overlooking Monterey Bay. Monterey first celebrated its birthday Merienda in 1929, on the same spot where it takes place today: the Memory Garden at Custom House Plaza in Monterey State Historic Park.

This year's La Merienda celebrates all things Californio (Alta Californian), including a barbecue served by local notables, dancing, mariachis, piñatas and a traditional procession of costumed dons, doñas and señoritas. Reigning over the festivities is La Favorita, a young woman with deep ties to Monterey history, and her "doncellas," or attendants, all dressed in traditional white Spanish gowns and lacy mantillas. Attendees are also encouraged to don period garb to help re-create the atmosphere of an 18th century merienda. In a nod to the 20th century, there will also be a raffle and live auction with restaurant meals, vacations, wine, gift bags, art, fishing and whale-watching trips and candy up for grabs.

The meal includes tri-tip steak or chicken, salad, beans, garlic bread and unlimited beverages. In addition to soft drinks and water, Cima Collina wines are provided by Hilltop Vineyards, and beer comes courtesy of Peter B's Brewpub. Dessert is a 75-pound birthday cake topped with fresh roses, carried in with all due full pomp and circumstance by local young men serving as cake-bearers, who parade the confection around the garden before it is sliced with a sword.

Established last year, La Merienda Para los Niños is a party within a party for children from 4 to 11 years old. While the adults enjoy the garden party, little ones will celebrate with bilingual musician and songwriter Juan Sanchez, early California games and crafts, a picnic lunch and their own ceremonial cutting of the birthday cake. Kids also get to watch the procession of La Favorita's court and the entrance of the mariachis.

Guests may reserve a table and host a group of friends or join a table with other guests. Space in the garden is limited, so reservations should be made as soon as possible. Proceeds support the Museum of Monterey, the Casa Serrano adobe, the Doud House and the Mayo Hayes O'Donnell Library.